Halfbrick announces Raskulls to tear up Xbox Live Arcade in Q3 2009

Prominent Australian developer Halfbrick today announced its brand new IP for the Xbox Live Arcade - Raskulls. Joining the heritage of the most popular XBLA titles such as Braid, Castle Crashers and The Maw, Raskulls is an entirely original and exciting puzzle platformer with a rich single-player campaign and an incredibly addictive online multiplayer component.

Gameplay is a unique blend of platforming, puzzle and racing. With hundreds of blocks arranged in Tetris-style fashion throughout each world, players must use a block-smashing wand to find their way through the level in the most efficient way possible. Some levels are simple point-to-point or lap footraces, while other modes involve diffusing bombs and conserving block-bashing "ammo". Up to four players can race with heaps weapons and powerups in a huge variety of levels and modes.

Games developed with a variety of genres in mind during the creation process often fail to provide enough focus and longevity for the player. Lead designer Daniel Vogt confidently believes that Raskulls will be a one-of-a-kind experience with quality gameplay to back it up. "It's difficult to categorize Raskulls, but instead of using that as an excuse, the whole dev team knows it's an advantage," he said, "Everyone is familiar with simple block-based gaming, but we've taken it to the next level by placing the player directly into the puzzle-based environment– and given them heaps of gameplay options. Combine the variety of powerups, the lengthy story mode and addictive multiplayer, and we know we're onto a winner."

The stars of the show are the Raskulls themselves. Cute, costumed skeleton characters with individual personalities, the humor and art style of Raskulls is tongue-in-cheek and constantly hilarious. Two teaser images have been launched to showcase the unique art style and mischievous humor found throughout the game. Screenshots, gameplay trailers and a whole roster of character profiles will be revealed soon!

Raskulls is scheduled for a worldwide release on Xbox Live Arcade in Q3 2009.

About Halfbrick

Halfbrick is a professional game development studio based in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 2001, it has developed popular titles for the Game Boy Advance, PSP, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, with expansion into Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare and PlayStation Network development. For further information, please visit www.halfbrick.com

Games Press is the leading online resource for games journalists. Used daily by magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, online media and retailers worldwide, it offers a vast, constantly updated archive of press releases and assets, and is the simplest and most cost-effective way for PR professionals to reach the widest possible audience. Registration for the site and the Games Press email digest is available, to the trade only, at www.gamespress.com.

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Sign up to receive MCV's email news updates and access to other online products and services.

MCV is the leading trade news and community site for all professionals working within the UK and international video games market. It reaches everyone from store manager to CEO, covering the entire industry. MCV is published by NewBay Media, which specialises in entertainment, leisure and technology markets.